10/12/2012

Scrapbooking a Fitting Tribute: Drink Deeply from Life

Many of you are aware that I lost my loving partner of the past decade to cancer just last week. It is nearly impossible to put into words, my grief and my sorrow...

As I rummaged through my archives of photographs in search of images of Jim that would provide me with some sort of comfort, memories of the the joy with which he lived his life began to emerge. Jim was a simple man in many ways, and it was the simplest things in life that gave him the greatest joy. One of these things was my cooking.

I found a series of photos of Jim that I snapped as he was slurping down a large platter of Oysters Rockefeller that I made for him...they seemed to capture Jim's zest for life and it's simple pleasures. As Design Team member on Let's Scrap (a fabulous on-line international scrapbooking community) I was assigned a sketch (by Valerie Salmon of Got Sketch?) for the weekly challenge, and it was perfect for my theme.
I was especially drawn to the journaling bracket to the right of the main photo... certainly I must have something in my stash that I could use for that great shape! I rifled through my supply and came up with some interesting options.
Some seemed too small; others seemed too large. I rather liked the blue with Jim's hair and the weathered shingles in the background. I had decided on a neutral background by Basic Grey, because I thought the photos would pop better. Then I tried one more shape, but because it was white and didn't show up on the neutral background, I tossed it over a distressed red sheet that I had recently purchased from a new manufacturer called Farm House Paper Company...
Wow! I'm loving the red! It seemed to really warm-up Jim's complexion & was more representative of the early summer evening of our feast. -But the white bracket was too stark & the shape a bit too curvy. In the end, I decided to cut a template from a Simple Stories journaling block and cut the shape out of a ledger-imprinted cardstock.
Much better...the shape of the bracket is more subtle, the ledger paper is just the right shade (sorry, I was too in the zone & forgot to snap a photo for you). I made a snap decision to play-up the wooden shingle background by using a wood-grained paper under the red. The Farm House paper had a great gingham pattern on it's reverse side, which inspired me to use it along with some polk-a-dot paper to create the stripes suggested by the sketch. Voila! The first photo is in place!
The sketch called for a banner...which was very appropriate for the layout & the theme, since our deck is always adorned with some sort of draped, banner-like outdoor lights. I fussy cut those out of a Simple Stories cardstock......and added some lovely baker's twine from Butterfly Papercrafts (Mindi
had a sale...I couldn't help myself...bought a little of ALL the
colors! Do check out this great new shop!)
The key to great story-telling in scrapbooking is to combine the visual layout with the perfect journaling. I was uncertain what to use for a title...I found a lovely Melissa Francis medallion that read: Favorite Meal...nice...I should use it...but not what I'm looking for.

As I took a break from my scrapbooking to open the mail, I flipped through a new Boating US magazine that had just arrived for Jim. I looked at it not with interest, but with regret, that alas, Jim wasn't here to read it. Then, as if by divine intervention, there it was! "Drink Deeply From Life and Seize The Day" -the most perfect quote simply appeared randomly on page 8, and out of pure chance. It was EXACTLY what I was trying to say in my layout!

I copied the quote and inked it with several of Tim Holtz's Distress Inks (Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick & Vintage Photo) and adhered it to the bracket. I stamped on the date, and the rest fell into place organicly, exactly as it was meant to.

I added a circular photo detail of the Oysters Rockefeller in the upper left-hand corner and adhered it as a pocket, so I could slip a removable mini copy of the recipe into it. (If you reference the sketch I was using, you'll notice the circular embellishment that is suggested for this corner.)

A whimsical 3-D heart with a little metal dangle was added with a pop-dot for symbolism and interest.(Clustering embellishments like this gives them more visual impact... don't you think?)

The main photo was tied in a twine bow -a trendy touch, for sure, but to me it also symbolizes an embrace...as if the twine were an extension of my arms, giving my Jim one final hug.

To complete the story, I stamped this poignant massage on the bottom: "No one drank more deeply from life than my Jim...savouring every drop." ...And so he did.

Comments

Many of you are aware that I lost my loving partner of the past decade to cancer just last week. It is nearly impossible to put into words, my grief and my sorrow...

As I rummaged through my archives of photographs in search of images of Jim that would provide me with some sort of comfort, memories of the the joy with which he lived his life began to emerge. Jim was a simple man in many ways, and it was the simplest things in life that gave him the greatest joy. One of these things was my cooking.

I found a series of photos of Jim that I snapped as he was slurping down a large platter of Oysters Rockefeller that I made for him...they seemed to capture Jim's zest for life and it's simple pleasures. As Design Team member on Let's Scrap (a fabulous on-line international scrapbooking community) I was assigned a sketch (by Valerie Salmon of Got Sketch?) for the weekly challenge, and it was perfect for my theme.
I was especially drawn to the journaling bracket to the right of the main photo... certainly I must have something in my stash that I could use for that great shape! I rifled through my supply and came up with some interesting options.
Some seemed too small; others seemed too large. I rather liked the blue with Jim's hair and the weathered shingles in the background. I had decided on a neutral background by Basic Grey, because I thought the photos would pop better. Then I tried one more shape, but because it was white and didn't show up on the neutral background, I tossed it over a distressed red sheet that I had recently purchased from a new manufacturer called Farm House Paper Company...
Wow! I'm loving the red! It seemed to really warm-up Jim's complexion & was more representative of the early summer evening of our feast. -But the white bracket was too stark & the shape a bit too curvy. In the end, I decided to cut a template from a Simple Stories journaling block and cut the shape out of a ledger-imprinted cardstock.
Much better...the shape of the bracket is more subtle, the ledger paper is just the right shade (sorry, I was too in the zone & forgot to snap a photo for you). I made a snap decision to play-up the wooden shingle background by using a wood-grained paper under the red. The Farm House paper had a great gingham pattern on it's reverse side, which inspired me to use it along with some polk-a-dot paper to create the stripes suggested by the sketch. Voila! The first photo is in place!
The sketch called for a banner...which was very appropriate for the layout & the theme, since our deck is always adorned with some sort of draped, banner-like outdoor lights. I fussy cut those out of a Simple Stories cardstock......and added some lovely baker's twine from Butterfly Papercrafts (Mindi
had a sale...I couldn't help myself...bought a little of ALL the
colors! Do check out this great new shop!)
The key to great story-telling in scrapbooking is to combine the visual layout with the perfect journaling. I was uncertain what to use for a title...I found a lovely Melissa Francis medallion that read: Favorite Meal...nice...I should use it...but not what I'm looking for.

As I took a break from my scrapbooking to open the mail, I flipped through a new Boating US magazine that had just arrived for Jim. I looked at it not with interest, but with regret, that alas, Jim wasn't here to read it. Then, as if by divine intervention, there it was! "Drink Deeply From Life and Seize The Day" -the most perfect quote simply appeared randomly on page 8, and out of pure chance. It was EXACTLY what I was trying to say in my layout!

I copied the quote and inked it with several of Tim Holtz's Distress Inks (Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick & Vintage Photo) and adhered it to the bracket. I stamped on the date, and the rest fell into place organicly, exactly as it was meant to.

I added a circular photo detail of the Oysters Rockefeller in the upper left-hand corner and adhered it as a pocket, so I could slip a removable mini copy of the recipe into it. (If you reference the sketch I was using, you'll notice the circular embellishment that is suggested for this corner.)

A whimsical 3-D heart with a little metal dangle was added with a pop-dot for symbolism and interest.(Clustering embellishments like this gives them more visual impact... don't you think?)

The main photo was tied in a twine bow -a trendy touch, for sure, but to me it also symbolizes an embrace...as if the twine were an extension of my arms, giving my Jim one final hug.

To complete the story, I stamped this poignant massage on the bottom: "No one drank more deeply from life than my Jim...savouring every drop." ...And so he did.